The outcome of the cases pending before the Supreme Court regarding same-sex marriage carries enormous social and economic weight. The cases under review are California’s Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage and the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which establishes marriage as being between one man and one woman.

One concept on which both proponents and opponents of same-sex marriage seem to agree is that marriage is far more than a public relationship status change.

“DOMA was a national policy saying that states have the power to make the decision for themselves,” said Bill Collins, professor of political science at UNA. “At the same time, it means that the government doesn’t recognize gay marriages for the purposes of (federal) benefits.”

With marriage comes entitlement to savings such as tax exemptions on health care expenses, Collins said.

Jennifer Cravens, president of the Student Alliance for Equality (SAFE), said that marriage status “opens up the door for so many benefits” — namely, the ability to receive government benefits by filing together on tax returns.

Cravens said she believes that gay couples should be eligible for such benefits.

She also said that under current federal policy, a gay person does not have hospital visitation rights.

As Collins pointed out, marriage means more than saving money.

“Marriage has a lot of connotations of love,” he said.

UNA junior Chelsea Wise said she and her girlfriend, who is living in England, have talked about getting married once Wise finishes school. Wise is watching to see how the cases in the Supreme Court unfold.

“When it comes to love, people get married to show how much you love each other,” she said. “It’s every human’s right to get married.

“The thing you hear over and over again is ‘You’re going to hell.’ I think that dominates the gay marriage issue. It’s hard to get people to change their mind about something they’ve been taught all their lives.”

John Eastman, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Organization for Marriage, spoke out against legalizing gay marriage in a video posted on oyez.org.

“It’s not just because of the relationship between adults that we recognize the importance of (the institution of marriage) — it’s because those particular relationships are the way society procreates and creates the next generation of citizens,” he said.

“I think the purpose of marriage, first of all, is to glorify God and give a picture of what the Gospel is,” said Jacob Hale, UNA student. “The second function, as a social institution, is to provide stability and provide a cohesiveness to society.

“(Marriage is) not just a status and it’s not just a relationship; it’s both. I’m not against (gay marriage) out of spite or hatred, but as a Christian, I see the institution of marriage as it stems from a biblical notion.

“If you put it to a popular vote, I think the majority would still be against it, but it’s more of a silent majority.”

UNA student Amanda Crane said she sees injustice in the fact that a man and woman can legally get married and divorced in a matter of days, while committed same-sex couples are not legally allowed to get married.

“The problem that’s taken place with respect to marriage, family and the law is that the need for families has remained the same, but the expectations that we’re placing on family have been very different,” said Craig Robertson, professor of sociology at UNA.

Robertson said politicians and the general public have confused the definition of marriage with the definition of families.

“Family is an institution because it is beneficial to society; marriage is not,” he said. “(Marriage) is a rite of passage. It signifies to the rest of us that this couple is now off bounds to the rest of us and that they are publicly confirming their relationship to each other.

“The public debate over (DOMA) and whether or not we should recognize marriage involving same-sex couples should not be discussed in the context of marriage as a social institution.

“There is nothing inherent in the relationship involving a same-sex couple versus a heterosexual couple that undermines the basic functions of family.

Robertson said a common argument surrounding Proposition 8 is that gay couples cannot have children. He said that argument is not valid because of options like surrogacy, which makes having children possible for gay couples.

Robertson said he believes the issue will ultimately resolve in the favor of same-sex unions, not same-sex marriage.

“The Supreme Court will ultimately reject (DOMA) — I’ll go out on a limb and say that,” he said. “It’s not consistent with the idea of equal protection under the law.

“It takes time for the consciousness of the public to be altered, but that’s the power of the legal system: it can begin to do that.”